Cinematical Seven: Terrifying Movie Nightmares

I believe it was John Rambo who once said, "I'm your worst nightmare." If your worst nightmare is an over-oiled action star from the 1980s greeting you with an explosive arrowhead poised at the ready, then I can't argue that. But, for me, totally not my worst nightmare. You're going to have to try harder than that, Rambo.

Take A Nightmare on Elm Street for instance. There are too many "worst" nightmares to choose from in that series, and with the addition of an all-new remake next week, we'll get to see a number of them all over again, courtesy of Hollywood's hardest working "cover band" Platinum Dunes. Will Freddy Krueger get the chance to add some all-new cinematic nightmares to his resume?

Sometimes, lists are made to declare something as the best or worst, but this is not that list. Consider this a conversation starter about what cinematic nightmares you find the most terrifying. I've included seven that stand out in my mind as memorably disturbing, so, in no particular order, here we go.

The most iconic death scene in the original Elm Street, possibly even the entire series, is the moment in which Johnny Depp is pulled into his own mattress, which then spews forth a gravity-defying geyser of blood. Strangely enough, it's not quite a dream sequence. By the logic of the series, Freddy can only kill you in a dream, and while he certainly kills Depp while Depp is sleeping, the bizarre physical evidence of the blood-filled ceiling is witnessed by Depp's mother, who seems completely awake. Whether Depp getting pulled into the bed is an actual physical act or a nightmare is debatable, but the impact of the moment is not. It's nightmare enough to make this list.